When Obama first started talking about a health plan, it was to use the government’s buying power — since the government is already a massively large health customer — to lower the high cost of health.

That sounded like good common sense to me.

Fast forward to the details about the health plan being debated now.

That sounds like good common sense just went out the window.

Worse, it sounds nothing like what was originally proposed. That is very discouraging to me.

Not sure anyone noticed but oil has gotten whacked over the last few weeks (actually touched the 60’s today)… while the Dow has hung in there… meaning the weird relationship between the price of oil and the Dow has gotten, well, a little less weird.

I may be the only one in the country, but I think lower oil prices means people have more money to spend… and that fuels corporate earnings (not just for the U.S. but abroad, too, since we’re the world’s best customer)… and that drives stock prices higher.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Lots of measures are important… but nothing trumps the price of oil… it affects everything… for example, with short-term oil coming down, watch consumer sentiment magically improve in the following month or two.

AIG isn’t paying us back (like a lot of other banks have/are). Rather, they are spinning off two units and preparing to take them public.

For this, we (the U.S. taxpayer) gets $25 billion in preferred stock.

Here’s the problem: We already own 80% of AIG… which means we already own 80% of these two spin-offs… but, percentage-wise, AIG is giving us (the U.S. taxpayer) far less than our actual ownership stake.

"AIG continues to make good on its commitment to pay the American people back," AIG CEO Robert Benmosche said in a statement.

Bull shit. Is anyone watching this guy

P.S. How does this math work?!?

"As of Sept. 30, AIG had tapped $122.31 billion of the aid package and owed the government $85.66 billion in loans. Tuesday’s separation of AIA and Alico would reduce the outstanding aid package to $97.31 billion and the amount owed in loans to $60.66 billion."

Looks like they’re reducing what they owe by $50 billion, not $25 billion… !